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In hopes of gaining deeper insight into the spread of coronavirus across the state, Iowa public health leaders are increasing serology testing, the state announced Tuesday.

Gov. Kim Reynolds and state epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati spoke during the governor's daily news conference about the testing method, which detects coronavirus antibodies and indicates if a person has been infected with the virus and had an immune response to it.

“It's going to be really important for us to better understand the kind of immunity that people are developing — and also to help us understand where in our communities this virus might have been and where it might be moving,” Pedati said. “This is another example of a tool that we're going to continue to use to learn more and to gather and share information.”

The increased emphasis on serology testing comes as Iowa surpassed 15,000 positive coronavirus tests — with another 334 added to the state’s tally between Monday morning and Tuesday evening. As of Tuesday at 5 p.m., the state reported 15,349 cases and 375 deaths, including eight additional deaths Monday and Tuesday. Of the people who have tested positive, slightly more than 8,000 have recovered, according to the state’s data.

As of Tuesday evening, nearly 108,000 people had been tested for coronavirus, which includes 3,300 whose test results were included in state figures on Monday.

Different from a test of whether a person has been infected with the coronavirus, serology testing detects whether blood contains the antibodies typically formed after a person wards off the virus. A positive serology test could mean the patient already had the infection and may have a level of immunity.

For public health and medical officials, serology tests generate a better understanding of how and to what extent coronavirus has spread — and to what level one's antibodies will fight off the virus down the road.

As part of Iowa’s new website rollout that updates coronavirus numbers in real time, a dashboard has been created specifically showing serology testing results and what counties they're coming from. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, more than 12,000 Iowans have been given a serology test. Of that number, almost 10,500 have tested negative, for a 14% positive rate.

As for who can get a serology test, Pedati said the primary focus is on people who were previously infected and want to donate plasma; health care workers; first responders; and critical infrastructure workers. The state's hygienic laboratory also has an online test request option, where providers can decide if a test is needed for an individual patient who may have been suspected or confirmed to have had COVID-19.

However, some medical experts are quick to temper immediate expectations.

Dr. Austin Baeth, an internal medicine physician at UnityPoint Clinic in Des Moines, said the lack of clear information on immunity for COVID-19 survivors limits the impact of serology testing for individuals.

"The reason for this," Baeth said, "is we don't know — if someone has antibodies — if that actually means they're immune to getting coronavirus again. Because we don't have that answer, having a positive (serology) test doesn't mean that they can go about their normal life without taking precautions for getting coronavirus. It also doesn't mean they're safe from giving it to others. We just don't know enough about how to apply serology testing on an individual basis.

"It can be helpful from an epidemiological basis because it can give us a sense of what percentage of our population has actually now been exposed to this virus. But a patient in front of me, if I find out they're positive for an antibody, it only probably tells me they were previously exposed. It doesn't tell me whether they can get infected next week."

Karen Kordick-Smith, infection prevention coordinator for Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, agrees. She has seen the benefits of serology testing in the health care world — but less so from a routine patient standpoint.

"Basically how we're using it at this point is if a staff member tested positive for whatever reason," Kordick-Smith said. "We wait until about four weeks after the fact. We've just been rolling this out here recently. We haven't had a huge population of our staff that's gotten it, thank goodness. We haven't had many patients that we've tested yet."

Pedati said the state's hygienic lab is testing with Abbott ARCHITECT, which is received through the FDA and detects the antibody Immunoglobulin G (IgG). Other labs, Pedati said, are offering serology tests that must be reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

That will give the state a larger pool of data to work with on several fronts.

"It'll be a while before it gets to a (mainstream) point when they start talking about herd immunity and all that," Kordick-Smith said. "We're basically only at 10 to 20% of the population that's been exposed or could create antibodies. So we have a long way to go before we'd get to that point where we'd start screening many people for it."

Along with Pedati, Reynolds had Iowa Department of Human Services director Kelly Garcia on Tuesday's call, specifically to address updated COVID-19 guidelines for child care centers and in-home day cares as more Iowans return to work.

The latest stipulations include parents dropping off children at the door, temperature checks for all children and staff, and additional cleaning protocols. Should there be any positive cases, a child care setting could be closed from two days to two weeks, Garcia said. Number of cases, location and program size will determine the closure length.

"We're trying to strike the right balance, using all the tools we have," Garcia said. "We'll continue to address our approach as we move forward."

The governor also responded Tuesday to Rep. Cindy Axne's statement calling for an immediate investigation of the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration's response to an April complaint involving the Tyson Foods meatpacking plant in Perry. Allegations have surfaced that OSHA failed to properly investigate the complaint.

"It appears that they followed normal and their appropriate process," Reynolds said. "The complaint actually came in online through the federal system. Over the weekend, it came in on (April) 13th. They responded within five business days in writing, which was on the 20th. But they had in fact already been in touch with Tyson, other facilities and the Perry plant to talk about some of the processes that they were putting in place.

"So (OSHA) does have a process they go through that determines the seriousness of the complaint and therefore, how they respond to the complaint. ... At the time that (OSHA was) talking to (the Perry plant), they'd already proactively made the decision to shut down the facility, do some extensive cleaning and start to implement different practices."

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.